Disney's Vero Beach with Kids!

by Michelle Scribner MacLean, ALL EARS® Guest Columnist

Feature Article

This article appeared in the
June 12, 2007 Issue #403 of ALL EARS®
(ISSN: 1533-0753)

In our family, we are creatures of habit when it comes to where we stay at Walt Disney World. Sure,
we'll try any new restaurant, any new ride or attraction, but when we choose a place to stay it's
always the Beach Club. As Disney Vacation Club members, I guess we feel reassured by the familiar
setting, the proximity to the parks, and really connect when the Cast Members greet us with the
familiar, "Welcome home!" when we check in. (It makes us giggle every time -- but we love it!)

So we were feeling very adventurous when we decided to try a few days at Disney's Vero Beach. When
we told our kids, they were in shock -- living in New England we spend a great deal of time at the
beach in the summer, so they wondered why we'd want to spend our precious Disney time at the beach.
They couldn't imagine a vacation without attractions and a fireworks extravaganza to top off the
night! We checked online and noticed the wide variety of activities available to kids (in addition to
the ocean, of course) and decided to give it a try.

We arrived in mid-May and the first thing we noticed on the way down was a storm of bugs. Driving
down, our windshield wipers were working constantly as we drove through thousands and thousands of
what we later learned were called "love bugs." These darling creatures arrive in parts of Florida from
Central America twice during the year and are everywhere! I'm a science teacher and it was even too
many bugs for me, but they don't bite and they don't bother humans -- but for two weeks in May and
November, they are ever-present. Luckily, this turned out to be the only downside of a fantastic
vacation.

Vero Beach is a Disney Vacation Club resort, but is open to the public with rates from $189 to over
$1100 per night depending on the size of the accommodations and the time of the year. Room choices run
from studios (with or without ocean views) to entire cottages that sleep 12. With the idea that we'd
spend little time in the room, we chose a studio with an ocean view, which turned out to be a great
choice for our family. The room had a little deck with a gorgeous view (and if it wasn't for those
silly bugs, we'd have kept the door open the entire time!).

The resort turned out to be a fantastic place for kids. We have two boys who are 13 and 7 and
sometimes finding activities that will please both of them with their age difference is tricky -- but
they both had plenty to do. The pool is shaped like Mickey and has a "lighthouse" with a slide that
wraps around the outside and dumps into a shallow portion of the pool (about 3'). The slide is
"mellow" -- doesn't dump people into the water too quickly -- and is a great family slide. I saw
grandparents and 4-year-olds using the slide together. There is also a pirate ship water play area
for kids under 48". There is a DJ at different times during the day and food and beverages are
available poolside. You could stay for hours and be very comfortable.

Vero Beach Resort is right on the beach. We made it from our studio to the sand in five minutes,
with only a stop to use the key card access (only resort guests are permitted on the beach). Towels
are free and available near the beach, as well as rentals of boogie boards, kayaks, umbrellas, and a
variety of beach chairs. However, we needed none of that as the waves and sand kept my kids very busy.
The waves look deceptively tame, but knocked me over when the water was waist high -- but my kids
loved it. Evan, 13 years old, spent hours and hours in the water and had a smile on his face the
entire time. Liam, my 7-year-old, was knocked over a few times and we needed to stay right with him
in the water, but he also loved it.

The beach is also host to sea turtles during the months of June and July, and sea turtles are a
recurring theme in the resort. A naturalist named Marianne works there and hosts nature walks and
points out various types of sea pods (seeds that float onto the beach from afar), places where the
turtles have come to lay their eggs, and places to find sharks' teeth (my kids found about five!).
Marianne even provided a field guide to help us identify a bird that we saw.

Eb and Flows is a little place right next to the pool which loans sports equipment, has sign-up
lists for various activities, etc. We borrowed rackets and balls (free for DVC members and a small fee
for non-DVC members) and made our way across the street, through an underground tunnel painted with
characters from Peter Pan, to beautiful tennis courts -- a great option if you want a tiny break from
the beach. We were the only ones there and had a marvelous time (although, next time I'd bring my own
tennis balls because the ones provided had seen better days).

In addition to the activities mentioned above, the resort has a group of counselors who lead a
variety of types of programs at the resort. A weekly guide to activities called Playful Pastimes is
available at the front desk so you can plan out your week. Some activities have small fees, but many
are free. An abbreviated list of things available while we were there is below:

For 4-Year-Olds and Up
Tot fish find
Bubbles
Un-birthday party
Face decorating

For All Ages
Pool games
Disney family movie with popcorn
Soccer
Family Bingo
Sea turtle information session

My 7-year-old and I went to a cooking class where two Disney "chefs" gave him a chance to decorate
his own chef's apron with fabric pens. He decorated his own chef's hat, and then led a very brief
overview of the tools he'd be using as he created his own dirt cake complete with gummy worms. The fee
for this was $7, but there was only one other boy, so he got quite a lot of attention from the two
staff members.

Another option for activities is the Disney Discovery Club. From 5 - 8 p.m. on most nights,
counselors provide activities and dinner for kids aged 4 - 12 years old. Our 7-year-old begged us to
go into the club after he'd seen other kids doing it. We said, "OK, Liam, if we have to spend three
hours alone eating dinner, we'll make that sacrifice!" Our 13-year-old opted to spend time in the
arcade while we had dinner at one of the restaurants onsite (Shutters). We received rave reviews from
Liam! The counselors were college-age, seemed to really enjoy kids, and kept the 10 kids in attendance
busy, safe, and happy. The cost for this is $30 for DVC members, and $35 for non-members.

One of our favorite activities was the Sing-Along Campfire, which happens several nights during the
week. At the end of the property there is a dedicated area for the campfire with benches that encircle
a small area for the fire. When we mentioned to our teen that we were going to a campfire and that
there would be singing involved, he was less than thrilled, but ended up loving it! Our two
counselors, Doulin and Eric, were the perfect mix of corny and fun as they hosted lively renditions of
P-L-U-T-O (to the tune of BINGO), Chicka-chicka Boom Boom (where they sang as if they were Bob Dylan
and AC/DC, among others), and the Mickey Mouse March. The night concluded with everyone making S'mores
-- as many as you could eat -- at the campfire. It was a hit with our family and, judging from the
cheers from the crowd, was a hit with all other attendees there, too.

With the ocean, the activities, and the "Disney magic," the Vero Beach Resort was a perfect choice
for our family. We only stayed three days, but we left rested and entertained with definite plans to
visit again... only next time we'll try to avoid the bugs.

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About the Author: Michelle Scribner-MacLean is a college professor by day and a Disney fanatic in
every other bit of free time. She first visited WDW when she was a teenager and now is a DVC owner who
visits Walt Disney World 2-3 times per year. Michelle lives in New Hampshire with her husband and two
boys and loves roller coasters, the fantastic food at Disney, and always cries when she sees
IllumiNations.